by Chris Knight on January 2, 2009
I’m looking at the weather forecasts with a somewhat nervous eye at the moment. I have booked a 12,000 mile service for the Goldwing at Doble’s on Wednesday and there is a possibility of snow that day according to a couple of the forecast sites I use. Another says nothing about snow, so as usual, “You pays your money and takes your choice”. Of course, I paid no money to any of these sites, so can’t really complain if their prognostications are wrong. Either way, I am not a fan of riding in snow.
Doble’s unfortunately don’t operate on quite that principle - a service for free - and as the 12,000 mile service is a major one for the Wing, I can expect a big bill 
However, I see from a recent flyer that they are offering 25% discount on everything apart from bikes over the coming weekend. The trouble is I don’t really need anything from them at present and a 25% discount isn’t enough to persuade me to buy stuff that I don’t need. Although, having said that, there is quite a decent range of Honda branded clothing (Joe Rocket stuff in actuality) that includes a Goldwing jacket that would look better on the bike than the BMW Rallye 2 Pro jacket I often wear..
by Chris Knight on December 31, 2008
My blog here at woodgen.com has been running a fairly long time as blog lifetimes go - since May 2007 to be precise. Along the way, I have had the usual frustrations experienced by anyone running their own sites - outages, lost data recalcitrant scripts and the like. Inevitably, as I added more functionality (ie complexity), things started to go downhill. The camel’s back broke under the straw of updating Wordpress to its present incarnation of version 2.7. At this point all my archived posts became inaccessible even though the mysql database appeared undamaged and intact.
Various attempts to resurrect the archives failed and I became so frustrated, I set up a new blog at Blogspot (running on the Blogger software). This worked fine except that I had to import all my old posts from the mysql database by hand which took three days! That I am still sane after this is a testament to my genes or more likely, Nurofen.
So, with one fully functional blog which is here, I felt moderately happy, except that all my comments had disappeared and as I started to look at various statistics, I realised that whereas my old blog was well spidered by Google etc. and came up as a first hit on many searches, my new one figured nowhere and reading various folks views on SEO stuff, I came the view that a blog at Blogspot was always likely to feature less prominently than one on a personal web site - other things being equal.
Anyone that publishes a blog is presumably concerned with getting read by someone and I am no exception - my deathless prose is not for me alone, so I started to look for ways of resurrecting my blog at woodgen.com. I won’t bore you with all the details, blind alleys, deathtraps, pitfalls and the like - tell me if you need more info but this is what worked in the end.
1. I set up a (free) blog at wordpress.com which is here.
2. I imported my Blogger data (all the posts) to my new wordpress.com blog, using the Tools>Import option
3. I exported my data from wordpress.com using the Tools>Export option
4. I set up a new database and Wordpress site on my own hosted server
5. I imported the xml file generated in (3) above.
6. Hey Presto - I have a working blog.
Finally - because I was being driven crazy by double apostrophes appearing in my new blog - as used to happen in the old Wordpress blog - when I wanted only one. I searched and searched until I found the solution.
7. I created a file called php.ini containing just these lines
magic_quotes_runtime=off
magic_quotes_gpc=off
magic_quotes_sybase=off
8. I copied the file to every directory of my new woodgen blog ( probably only one directory is important but by this stage I was past caring.
9. I commented out these lines in wp_settings.php (my // is already shown here)
// If already slashed, strip.
//if ( get_magic_quotes_gpc() ) {
// $_GET = stripslashes_deep($_GET );
// $_POST = stripslashes_deep($_POST );
// $_COOKIE = stripslashes_deep($_COOKIE);
//}
// Escape with wpdb.
//$_GET = add_magic_quotes($_GET );
//$_POST = add_magic_quotes($_POST );
//$_COOKIE = add_magic_quotes($_COOKIE);
//$_SERVER = add_magic_quotes($_SERVER);
And now, finally, I can write let’s go to Jim’s place without appearing illiterate!
For the time being, I am going to be cross posting my stuff at the three sites that I now have with my blog - so determined am I not to have to go through the whole darn thing again.
Bottom line after this experience?
Blogger at Blogspot is by far the easiest blog to set up and use. It lacks some of Wordpress’s bells and whistles and has fewer attractive themes to pick from although Wordpess themes are being converted for Blogger by enthusiasts. It is better integrated with other Google services than Wordpress which will be of interest to folk running ads etc although the SEO stuff actually seems to favour Wordpress on your own site.
As far as I am concerned, if only a few people read my stuff and find some value or amusement in it, I am well satisfied.
by Chris Knight on December 30, 2008
Courtesy of the postman this morning. Thanks too to Derek at Pricedright for getting them sent off so quickly. The gloves are a little large but only borderline so I shall keep them. Naturally I had to try them out and with the temperature at -2 deg C this morning, it seemed like a good day to do it. I rode only a few miles but enough to let me know that the gloves were indeed doing their job and keeping my hands nice and warm. My cold thumbs never even threatened an appearance. Probably the coolest digits were my little fingers but this was only just noticeable and nothing to complain about. Had I ridden much further, I should have been wishing for long johns, it was really quite cold although fortunately without any wind to speak of.
Glove pictures aren’t too exciting, so here’s a shot of the Adventure-Spec bars I installed recently
by Chris Knight on December 29, 2008
Well, I hope so at least. I rang
Pricedright this morning and placed an order for a pair of the Gerbings heated gloves. I enjoy the cold bright weather we are having at the moment and I stay pretty warm in my Gerbings heated jacket under my riding suit and with heated grips on both bikes, the palms of my hands are OK but the tips of my thumbs get very cold to the point of spoiling the enjoyment of being out on the bike. I can wear thicker winter gloves of course but I miss the feel of the controls with thicker gloves and this always feels a bit less safe than I would like. I am hoping the Gerbings gloves will offer the warmth and the feel I want. They are supposedly waterproof too so I am pretty hopeful they will make an ideal winter glove. I ordered the Large size based on the sizing instructions but Derek at Pricedright assures me that he will change them if they don’t fit properly. I must say, I have always had very good service from them in the past so I have no worries there.
by Chris Knight on December 26, 2008
For Blogger posts that is. I have been able to extract my old Wordpress posts one by one and am now in the process of bringing them over here. It is a long-winded way round but as far as I can see, it’s the only way to do it and I am glad that it is possible at all.
I am rather counting on Blogspot being around for a long time and for the software that powers it to be updated painlessly with no input needed from me when and if it happens. At first, maintaining my own web site was fun but it now seems just a chore and even though the Wordpress installation I had on it was not difficult to manage, it had developed some irritating quirks like substituting double apostrophes for a single character.
I gave up maintaining a gallery of photography on my own site some time ago in favour of a SmugMug hosted account and that has proved a good decision, it may not be too much longer before I find a way to offload my remaining stuff on woodwork and genealogy and can get out of the site management lark altogether.
by Chris Knight on December 25, 2008
Fresh from the triumph of fitting my new crash bars to the BMW yesterday, I celebrated by having a short ride on it today. Having both been laid low by the flu for two weeks, dearly beloved and I have postponed our Xmas jollifications until New Year - assuming we (still) feel like doing so by then, so today there were no distractions like presents to open or any such nonsense - it was on the bike and off! More accurately, it was about 11 am when I dragged myself to the garage, determined to prove to myself that I was still capable of getting the bike off the centre stand and out of the garage, mounting it and riding it.
I accomplished all of the above, only to discover that far from the imagined peace and quiet that would be prevailing on the roads at this time, countless, godless, antisocial idiots were already abroad, cluttering up the place just like a normal weekday. I turned as soon as I could onto the byways and quiet country lanes but found them so covered in mud and water that even with my new TKC-80s, I felt a mite insecure and given my kitten-like feebleness, I reckoned that it would be quite beyond me to pick the darn bike up if I fell off so I headed for home a lot sooner than I planned.
Aside from anything else, it wasn’t that warm. The bike claimed 5 degrees but my thumbs were sure it was sub-zero. Ah well, time to look at Gerbings heated gloves I reckon..
by Chris Knight on December 25, 2008
Well if you made it over here from my old blog, you’ll understand that I am totally pissed-off with Wordpress. Trying to upgrade to version 2.7 completely hosed my blog and all the archived entries have become inaccessible. I don’t know if I’ll have better luck here but it’s worth a try I guess.
If you have stumbled across this for the first time, then I’ll just say that this blog is about my experiences on two-wheels - a BMW F800GS and a Honda Goldwing 1800. These are very different bikes and designed to do different things but I enjoy both more or less equally.
by Chris Knight on December 10, 2008
My crashbars and bash plate arrived from Adventure Spec this morning. They were delayed apparently because the guys at AS had been unable to get up a snow-covered hill to their workshop on top of some god-forsaken moor and as a result were not posted until Monday. They arrived as shown in a rather unprepossessing bag but also as shown, were actually very well protected from the slings and arrows of Royal Mail by various bits of pipe insulating foam and carefully positioned brown paper.
First impressions are of a very solidly made bit of kit with nice neat welding and excellent powder coating. I just had time to fit the bashplate before it got too dark and cold.
The bashplate makes the BMW supplied bashplate look really poor. Mine had split a weld somewhere on the trails of deepest darkest Wales in September and when you compare the welds it is easy to see why. The black AS plate on the right is welded inside and out whilst the BMW plate is welded only on the outside. Where the split occurred I can see only very limited penetration of the weld metal. Also, the AS plate is made from 4mm ally whilst the BMW plate is only 3mm thick. Also, the BMW plate has a welded seam running up the middle, whilst the AS plate is a single piece of metal at that point.
I hope to fit the bars tomorrow and if they go on as easily as the bashplate, it should be a doddle. All the nuts are in stainless steel and the five spaceers that come with the kit are in balck anodised ally.
by Chris Knight on December 2, 2008
Well TomTom came through in the end although the communications through their web site still drive me potty. I had to create a new email address and set up a TomTom Home account in the new name, then the company switched my map authorisation to the new mail address and I was able to to download it. It seems like a needless palaver to me, caused basically by their desire to a) make their products secure from piracy and b) use a system that is designed for people who don`t have a clue about computers. Good intentions and roads to hell come to mind..
I also got a phone call from Chris at Adventure-Spec from whom I ordered crash bars and a bash plate. He says they were being sent off today so with a bit of luck I should receive them tomorrow. I ordered these as a replacement for the SW Motech bars that I had so much trouble with when trying to fit them ( and which I sent back to Nippy Normans for a refund). I sure hope the new ones fit! I do have a bashplate already - the BMW one but that has cracked as a result of some darn rocks jumping out at me and in any case I wasn`t sure if the new bars would fit around the BMW bashplate. Also the Adventure-Spec plate looks more robust than the BMW one. I shall try my hand at welding that up with my little MIG welder, it’ll make a useful spare for someone.
by Chris Knight on November 27, 2008
I took the BMW over to South London Motorrad yesterday for a set of factory mandated checks and updates. These involved re-routing the ABS connections, checking various fasteners on the brakes, replacing the fuel pressure sensor and a software update.
Not unnaturally, I have not noticed any difference as the bike was running fine beforehand anyway. What I did notice was just how different the 650 GS loan bike I used felt (I had to leave my bike there for most of the day, and I needed transport). It seemed very low in the seat, rather underpowered, or at least lacking in the torque department and contrary to my expectations, the steering seemed very slow and the bike reluctant to tip in at corners. I didn`t check the tyres closely but they were road tyres, not TKC`s like mine - how much and what kind of difference this makes, I don`t know. I do know that I vastly preferred my own bike to the 650. Perhaps this had more to do with familiarity than anything else but the difference surprised me, I had thought the two bikes would feel much the same.
The weather was absolutely dreary and in the morning, cold with it. The heated hand grips are great but particularly my thumbs get cold even with them on. I guess it`s time to don winter wear.
